PM: We must ‘get this part right’

OT­TAWA — Prime Min­is­ter Justin Trudeau is plan­ning to over­haul the way the fed­eral govern­ment re­lates to Indige­nous Peo­ples in Canada, in­clud­ing a new leg­isla­tive frame­work de­signed to pave the way to­wards stronger rights and greater con­trol over their own des­tiny.

“We need to both rec­og­nize and im­ple­ment Indige­nous rights,” Trudeau said Wed­nes­day in the House of Com­mons.

“Be­cause the truth is, un­til we get this part right, we won’t have last­ing suc­cess on the con­crete out­comes that we know mean so much to peo­ple.”

The prime min­is­ter said the new ap­proach, to be de­vel­oped in part­ner­ship with First Na­tions, Metis and Inuit, is needed to tackle the many chal­lenges fac­ing their com­mu­ni­ties, in­clud­ing over­crowded hous­ing, un­safe drink­ing water and high rates of sui­cide among Indige­nous youth.

“All of these things de­mand real, pos­i­tive ac­tion — ac­tion that must in­clude the full recog­ni­tion and im­ple­men­ta­tion of Indige­nous rights,” Trudeau said. “We need to get to a place where Indige­nous Peo­ples in Canada are in con­trol of their own des­tiny, mak­ing their own de­ci­sions about the fu­ture.”

The new Recog­ni­tion and Im­ple­men­ta­tion of Indige­nous Rights Frame­work — to be un­veiled later this year fol­low­ing con­sul­ta­tions led by Carolyn Ben­nett, the min­is­ter for Crown-indige­nous re­la­tions, and Jus­tice Min­is­ter Jody Wil­son-ray­bould — will in­clude new leg­is­la­tion.

Trudeau said the Lib­er­als in­tend to im­ple­ment it in time for the 2019 elec­tion.

Wed­nes­day’s speech comes as the fam­ily of Colten Boushie wraps up their visit to Par­lia­ment Hill, where they said they have felt wel­comed and sup­ported in their ef­fort to press the govern­ment for change fol­low­ing the ac­quit­tal of the man charged in Boushie’s death.